In May 2007, filmmaker/ playwright Neil LaBute (The Shape of Things) wrote a controversial op-ed for the Los Angeles Times about colorblind casting in the theater. He argued that everyone, including white actors, should be able to play whatever part they want regardless of race.
“For most white actors today, roles of color — from the classics to some of the sensational writing that is currently being done for the theater — are not even an option for them (because of their race), and I’m not sure why,” LaBute writes. “If someone does allow me to mount my all-white version of A Raisin in the Sun — then please let us proceed.”
The issue of colorblind casting has been on my mind recently because my theater company is mounting an all-Asian American version of the Tennessee Williams classic Suddenly, Last Summer.
Colorblind casting maintains that any actor, regardless of race, should be allowed to play any role. Usually it is applied to a minority actor playing a role that is not written for that minority.
LaBute argues that colorblind casting should be a “two-way street,” and white actors should be able to play Othello or sing the lead in Madame Butterfly. In the past, white people have played many of these roles, but LaBute laments that in our more politically correct climate that is no longer possible, and that’s a shame.
In a perfect world, any actor should be allowed to play any part. But we live in a flawed world where race still matters and racism, no matter how subtle, still rears its ugly head. Until things become truly equitable for all, colorblind casting should remain a one-way street. Until it is common occurrence to see minority faces on stage, on the big and small screens, playing non-race specific roles as in a Shakespeare or a David Mamet play or tackling characters like Indiana Jones or Spiderman, white actors should not be taking roles meant for minorities. It is hard enough for actors of color to book anything of substance without having Brad Pitt or Reese Witherspoon take away the few available opportunities.
At the heart of the argument that white actors should be able to play minority parts is a subtle racism that is also at the heart of opposition to affirmative action programs. The underlying foundation of this school of thought is that white people are better and more talented, i.e. we can’t let “those people” onto our most prestigious stages or into our finest schools because they’re not as good as us.
Some people (including Asians) have told me that it is “weird” to imagine Asians tackling the Southern accents and embodying that specific Southern culture in a Tennessee Williams play. These comments don’t have malicious intentions or come from uneducated hicks. But it shows that even among some enlightened Americans, the idea that things are completely equitable — that an audience will accept a Batman played by John Cho — is a long way off. And until that day comes, the thought of a white cast “yellowing it up” in a David Henry Hwang play is more than offensive.
Philip W. Chung is a writer and co-artistic director of Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, whose staging of Suddenly, Last Summer runs until August 24 at GTC Burbank in Burbank, Calif. For more info: Check out lodestonetheatre.org.